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THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMISTRY 



^ 






Development of a Rational System 



STOCK-FEEDING, 



PROF. CHARLES A. GOESSMANN, 

Massachusetts Agricultural College. 



EXTRACT FROM THE THIRTIETH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 
SECRETARY OF THE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



BOSTON : 

WRIGHT & POTTER PRINTING CO., STATE PRINTERS, 

18 Post Office Square. 

1883. 



7* 

THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMISTRY 



Development of a Rational System 



STOCK-FEEDING. 



PROF. CHARLES A. GOESSMANN", 

Massachusetts Agricultural College. 



EXTRACT FROM THE THIRTIETH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 
SECRETARY OF THE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



BOSTON : 

WRIGHT & POTTER PRINTING CO., STATE PRINTERS, 

18 Post Office Square. 

1883. 



Of 






THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMISTRY ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF A 
RATIONAL SYSTEM OF STOCK-FEEDING. 



The importance of a knowledge of chemistry for a satisfac- 
tory explanation of various physiological and pathological 
questions arising in the study of animal life has been for ages 
recognized. 

The attempt of Paracelsus (1540) , and a succeeding school 
of physicians, to explain most intricate physiological proc- 
esses in the auimal organism by the aid of the limited chem- 
ical experience of their time, as well as by the assumption of 
an ill-supported analogy of chemical and physiological reac- 
tions, caused only a temporary decline in the appreciation of 
chemistry on the part of physiologists and physicians. The 
adoption of more exact modes of chemical observation 
towards the close of the last century, not only restored the 
former confidence in its teachings, but secured to chemistry, 
in common with physics, a controlling influence on the de- 
velopment of the more rational animal and vegetable physiol- 
ogy of the present day. 

The introduction of the balance, by Lavoisier in 1783, 
into the laboratory of the chemist, for the purpose of study- 
ing the chemical changes of all substances under their treat- 
ment henceforth by weight, inaugurated the neAv era. A 
careful use of this instrument soon demonstrated two impor- 
tant facts : — 

First : Matter cannot be destroyed. 

Second: All chemical combinations are characterized by 
definite proportions of their constituents. 



4 THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMISTRY. 

It became evident that, however thoroughly the various 
qualities of a substance may be altered, one quality could 
not be destroyed, neither by physical nor by chemical agen- 
cies — namely, its weight ; and also that under whatever 
varying circumstances a certain definite chemical compound 
might have been produced, the same relative quantity of its 
elementary constituents is in every case required for its 
production. To account for the entire original quantity of 
the constituent elements of a substance throughout all its 
various stages of transformation, became an indispensable 
attribute of an acceptable explanation of an experimental ob- 
servation in chemistry. The chemist of the new era, in the 
language of the founder of modern chemical, animal physi- 
ology, aimed at a more concise description of the observation 
and proposed to control the latter by number and weight. 

The speedy general recognition of the above stated facts 
exerted soon a thus far unknown influence on many current 
opinions regarding the true character of well-known changes 
of all kinds of substances ; it controlled the proper selection 
of suitable subjects for future inquiry, and caused a more 
judicious choice of means to obtain the needed information. 

Among the first important results of the application of 
careful quantitative modes of examination are found the de- 
termination of the composition of water, the analysis of the 
air, and a correct experimental demonstration of the function 
of the air in the process of ordinary combustion, as well as 
of animal respiration, information of the first importance 
regarding the topic under discussion. 

For nearly thirty years, until 1820, inorganic sub- 
stances almost exclusively engaged the attention of chemists. 

The gradual perfection of analytical modes for the exami- 
nation of inorganic substances had led to the discovery of 
many new elements. The study of their chemical and phys- 
ical properties, as well as of their relations to previously 
known elementary substances ; the analyses of minerals, of 
soils, of the ashes of plants, and of industrial products in gen- 
eral, had furnished abundant subjects for investigation during 
that period. Organic substances, on account of inefficient 
modes of analysis, had received but little attention ; com- 
paratively but a few chemists had devoted themselves thus 



THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMISTRY. 5 

far to the study of organic compounds. Most noteworthy 
among them were Thenard and Gay-Lussac, two distin- 
guished French chemists, who followed the' course pointed 
out by Lavoisier. The unsatisfactory condition of organic 
chemistry was to be changed materially by the genius and 
the indomitable will of one man, who at this stage of the his- 
tory of chemistry entered the field of chemical research — 
Justus von Liebig. As the scientific labors of this remarka- 
ble man are closely identified with the development of the 
science of animal nutrition, I may be pardoned for treating 
somewhat more in detail of the circumstances which led him 
to exert a controlling influence on our present views regard- 
ing the science of stock-feeding. Having pursued the study 
of chemistry for four years at German universities, he had 
the good fortune to work for two years in the laboratory of 
Gay-Lussac at Paris, the most skilful experimenter in or- 
ganic chemistry of the time. 

Naturally inclined to the study of organic substances, he 
felt soon seriously the great need of better modes of ele- 
mentary organic analysis. His first efforts were therefore 
directed towards that end as soon as he returned to his 
native country, Germany, as professor of chemistry in the 
university of Giesen in 1824. The results obtained in that 
direction by him, and those who benefited by his instruc- 
tions, after five years of careful work, are a lasting monument 
of skill and perseverance ; they have made his name familiar 
to every chemist, and have earned for him the name of 
founder of organic chemistry. The rapidity of the execu- 
tion of an organic elementary anaylsis and the unsurpassed 
exactness of the analytical results obtained, tended to increase 
in an unusual degree the knowledge of the true elementary 
composition of many organic substances and placed the 
analytical modes of organic chemistry even above those of 
inorganic chemistry of the time. Enthusiastic students of 
chemistry from all parts of the world soon flocked to his 
laboratory, which, endowed by the munificence of the gov- 
ernment of the duchy of Hessen-Darmstadt, opened its doors 
on equally liberal terms to all, without regard to nationality. 

Supported in many of his intricate and most important in- 
vestigations of organic substances by his life-long friend, F. 



6 THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMISTRY. 

W Shier, one of the most thorough and most successful inves- 
tigators during the past fifty years, and surrounded by 
numerous and interested pupils, who frequently soon devel- 
oped into valuable assistants and successful co-laborers, he 
secured Avithin a period of fifteen years, from 1824 to 1839, 
a rich store of experimental observations regarding the ele- 
mentary composition, as well as other important qualities of 
a large number of organic substances of every description. 
I lis superior knowledge of the characteristics of organic 
compounds induced him to venture upon the study of the 
essential proximate constituents of plants and of animals, 
their food, their secretions and their excretions ; it may 
suffice here to refer in this connection to his examination of 
the nitrogenous substances of plants and of animals, of the 
blood, of the flesh, of the composition of the bile and of the 
urinary secretions. Liebig's main efforts since 1840 were 
directed towards the application of chemistry in agriculture 
and in physiology. 

The name, organic substance, had thus far been reserved 
for the products of vegetable and animal life. Wohler's suc- 
cessful artificial production of a prominent constituent of 
animal secretion — urea — in 1828, was still the only noted 
instance of a decidedly organic substance having been pro- 
duced without the assistance of the animal organism. Only 
a limited number of scientists looked upon that discovery as 
the first practical demonstration of chemical possibilities re- 
garding the study of vital activity. The production of 
organic substances in the organism of plants and of animals 
was ascribed to a peculiar agency called vital force, and it 
was not less almost universally accepted, that their chemical 
relations to each other as well as towards inorganic matter 
in general were widely differing from observations obtained 
in the study of inorganic matter. 

Liebig dissented at an early date almost instinctively from 
that view. To him there was but one science of chemistry, 
equally applicable to organic and inorganic substances. Al- 
though recognizing at any period of his life the peculiar influ- 
ence of the living organisms on the production of organic 
compounds, he did not hesitate to assume that the vital 
energy in its construction of organic substances would 



THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMISTRY. 7 

follow the general laws which govern chemical transfor- 
mations. 

The first systematic and concise statement of his advanced 
views was published at the special request of the British As- 
sociation for the Advancement of Science at their Liverpool 
meeting in 1837, namely: "To report on the condition of 
organic chemistry." His reply to this flattering invitation 
is contained in a publication which appeared in 1840 : 
"Chemistry in its application to Agriculture and to Physiol- 
ogy." This masterly presentation of the experimental obser- 
vations of preceding times as well as of his own extensive 
investigations regarding organic compounds, not less than 
the bold enunciations of his personal views concerning their 
bearing on vital points in the life of plants and of animals, 
created an unusual sensation among scientists and intelligent 
agriculturists everywhere. The great influence of this publi- 
cation, and its six revised editions, on the development of a 
rational agricultural practice, as well as on the science of 
physiology, is a recognized fact. 

Liebig's services to animal physiology are prominent in 
two directions, namely : First, on account of his extensive 
analytical examinations of numerous organic substances, of 
the proximate constituents of plants which serve as food for 
animals, and of the chemical changes they undergo during 
their passage through the animal system ; and, second, on ac- 
count of the direction he has given to the modes of observa- 
tion to be applied in the study of animal physiology, by sub- 
stituting the empirical experimental methods for the specu- 
lative philosophical one of preceding periods. A cursory 
study of the views of leading physiologists before 1840 can- 
not fail to concede to him a controlling influence on our pres- 
ent views regarding the principles which underlie a rational 
system of animal nutrition. Liebig's classification of the 
constituents of the animal food into three distinct groups, 
namely, Nitrogenous substances, non-nitrogenous substances, 
and mineral substances, furnishes the frame-work of the 
more rational system of stock-feeding of to-day. 

Although it had been noticed for years that some articles 
of animal food contained the element nitrogen as one of their 
constituents, whilst others contained none — nitrogenous 



8 THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMISTRY. 

and non-nitrogenous substances — experience has furnished 
ample proof during famine, in war, and under other excep- 
tional circumstances, that one single article of food, in par- 
ticular those which contained no nitrogen, could not sustain 
life beyond a limited period of time ; yet no satisfactory ex- 
planation of the real cause of death in those cases had been 
advanced. The force of this statement may be deduced 
from a subsequent brief enumeration of some feeding experi- 
ments carried on by distinguished scientists between 1830 
and 1840. Several of the following experiments were made 
in connection with a prize question offered for general com- 
petition by the "French National Academy," one of the 
foremost scientific associations of Europe : 

" Is the animal gelatine obtained by the boiling of bones, 
a suitable animal food?" 

1. Experiments with non-nitrogenous Substances. 
(Sugar, starch, gum, butter, etc.) 

Magendie fed a dog with sugar. The dog died on the 
thirtieth day, in spite of large consumption during the first 
period of the trial. Five-sixths of the muscles had disappeared, 
and even the fat was gone. Similar results were obtained 
when feeding butter ; the latter passed finally undigested 
through the animal. 

Tiedemann and Gmelin fed geese with dextrine and with 
starch. In the first instance the animal had died on the six- 
teenth day ; its weight had been reduced from five and two- 
thirds to four and two-thirds pounds. In the second instance 
the animal had lived twenty-seven days, and its weight had 
been reduced from eight and a half to six and a quarter 
pounds. 

2. Experiments with nitrogen-containing organic Substances. 
(White of the egg, flesh freed from fat, animal gelatine, etc.) 
Magendie fed a lot of dogs with the white part of eggs. 
After a few days of the trial, they preferred to die by 
starvation rather than to consume for any length of time 
the rich nitrogenous food. A second lot of dogs were fed with 
animal muscles freed from fat. They consumed, at the begin- 
ning of the trial, every one of them, from one to two pounds 



THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMISTRY. 9 

of that rich nitrogenous substance per day. All died between 
from fifty to seventy-five days. A third lot were fed with 
the animal gelatine obtained from the boiling of bones, which 
they consumed at first freely. They all had died before the 
twentieth day had passed by. The animals which served in 
these experiments had in every case lost their muscles and their 
fat. The result of these trials had left no doubt about the 
fact, that a single proximate organic constituent of plants or 
of animals, whether nitrogen-containing or not, could not be 
considered in itself an efficient animal food. The reason why 
it should be thus, or on what basis the various proximate 
constituents of plants and of animals should be compounded 
for a healthy animal diet, was evidently not yet understood. 

Physiologists and anatomists had studied during preceding 
periods, the various manifestations of motion in the animal 
organism ; the forms and constructions of the principal 
organs, the history of their development and of their growth : 
the process of absorption and of secretion, etc., with a skill and 
a perseverance which deservedly called forth the admiration 
of the time ; yet the character of many of the chemical proc- 
esses which transpire in the living animal organism was 
but little understood, and their intrinsic relations to definite 
physiological processes, for obvious reasons, scarcely sus- 
pected. 

The classifications of the various articles of animal food 
with reference to their relative feeding value, on the part of 
leading physiologists of that time, furnish one of the most 
striking illustrations of the change which has taken place in 
that direction. A classification of articles of food with refer- 
ence to quantity and quality of their essential proximate con- 
stituents did not exist ; the idea that some of these constitu- 
ents might have to perform different functions in the animal 
economy than others did not yet enter into their considera- 
tion. 

A cursory discussion of the circumstances which led to the 
recognition of the special functions of the principal constitu- 
ents of plants in animal nutrition may serve as farther proof 
of the great influence wirich chemistry has exerted on our 
present notions of the relative nutritive value of our various 
articles of fodder for farm animals. 



10 THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMISTRY. 

1. Nitrogenous Constituents of Food. 

(Protein substances.) 

> f 

S I Albumen — Eggs, blood serum, plants. 

£ a ! Casein — Milk ; leguminous plants, beans, etc. ; legumen. 

£ g ! Fibrin (solid) — Blood changes into it ; gluten in wheat, etc. 

a (They occur in the vegetable and animal kingdom.) 

The beginning of a better knowledge of the special rela- 
tions of nitrogen- containing organic constituents of the ani- 
mal food to animal nutrition may be traced directly to ex- 
aminations of that class of substances by Mulder, Liebig and 
his pupils from 1830 to 1840. Their extensive investiga- 
tions of many of our farm plants proved, contrary to current 
opinions, that all plants, and all parts of these plants, contain 
nitrogenous constituents of various descriptions, and as a 
rule in much larger proportions than generally conceded. 
Seeds and young plants showed more than natural stems and 
leaves. 

Liebig was the first scientist who pointed out the close 
chemical relations which exist between the three principal 
forms of nitrogenous constituents of plants and of animals ; 
namely, albumen, fibrin and casein. 

He recognized, by careful analyses, an exceptionally large 
accumulation of these substances in the seeds of many of our 
prominent farm crops ; and found also that the blood, the 
milk, the flesh, the muscles and the texture of animals 
showed similar remarkable features in their composition. 
He finally demonstrated, by actual experiment and otherwise, 
that the vegetable organism, or the plant, alone was capa- 
ble of producing from more elementary compounds, like car- 
bonic acid, water, ammonia and some mineral constituents, 
the complex nitrogen-containing proximate constituents of 
plants and of animals. As he had proved, also, that the ani- 
mal was incapable of producing in its owm organism the most 
characteristic constituents — as far as quantity and quality 
were concerned — of its own blood and flesh, etc., it became 
evident that the healthful and normal condition of the ani- 
mal, depended in a controlling degree, on the amount of cer- 
tain nitrogenous substances contained in the vegetable food 



THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMISTRY. 11 

consumed. The desirability of compounding the diet of the 
animal, as far as the supply of nitrogenous constituents is 
concerned, with special reference to the particular wants of 
its organization, as well as its conditions and its fuuctions, 
became not less apparent. I need scarcely to point out that 
in the light of Liebig's teachings, the time-honored practice 
of using the seeds of our cereals, some prominent leguminous 
plants (clover, beans, pease, etc.), the brans and the oil- 
cakes for enriching the fodder of farm stock tinds for the first 
time in the history of agriculture an intelligent explanation. 
Liebig called the nitrogenous constituents of the animal food, 
on account of their close relation to the formation of blood 
and flesh, the plastic constituents of the food, and considered 
them the source of animal energy, or interior and exterior 
phenomena of motion. 

II Non-Nitrogenous Constituents of Food. 

(As starch, sugars, organic acids, cellular substance, dextrine, gums, 

.fats, etc.) 

The composition and the general character of some of the 
principal non-nitrogenous organic plant constituents, and 
their relation to the animal economy, engaged Liebig's atten- 
tion not less than that of the nitrogenous substances. 

Many organic substances, which did not contain nitrogen, 
had already been studied with more or less success by other 
chemists, before Liebig turned his scientific eiforts towards 
the application of chemistry in the study of auimal physi- 
ology. 

The elementary composition of the starch, the sugars, the 
fats, the principal organic acids, cellular substance-, etc.. 
was known: all consisted of but three elements — carbon, 
hydrogen, oxygen. 

. The fats of plants aud of animals had been carefully stud- 
ied by Cheuvoreal and others : it had been proved that they 
are composed of the same constituents, and that they are in 
every way identical. The changes of the starch and the veg- 
etable cellular mass into sugar by the aid of mineral acids, 
and of the sugar into carbonic acid and alcohol by means 
of some nitrogenous organic matter, had been described. 



12 THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMISTRY. 

Liebig's main efforts in this connection were directed towards 
the study of the origin and the functions of the fat in the 
animal system. 

But little attention had been thus far paid to the solution 
of these questions. 

The animal fat was still considered a kind of stored up 
food, which in time of need would support life in conse- 
quence of an assumed disposition to combine with the nitro- 
gen of the air, forming thereby nitrogen-containing animal 
matter, like blood and flesh. Liebig, for obvious reasons, 
discarded these opinions. His own experience induced him 
to teach, as far as the origin of the fat in the animal system 
was concerned, that quite frequently a large proportion of 
the animal fat was produced in the animal, and not merely 
derived from the vegetable food it had consumed. He did 
not deny that the fat contained in the latter was absorbed 
during the process of digestion, without any material change 
in its general character ; he simply ascribed to the animal 
organism the power to convert, not only substances like 
starch and sugar, but also nitrogenous compounds, into neu- 
tral animal fats. 

Practical observations as well as scientific considerations 
furnished the arguments for his views. The large accumu- 
lation of fat noticed in well-fed cattle, sheep, pigs, and fowls 
could hardly be ascribed to the amount of fat found in the 
food consumed. Men living largely on a diet rich in starch 
and in sugar, as a rule, are more apt to accumulate fat than 
those living mainly on meat. On the other hand, the pecul- 
iar action of the saliva on starch, changing it into sugar, and 
of certain nitrogenous substances on the latter, changing the 
sugar into acids found in natural fats, besides the well-known 
degeneration of muscles and flesh parts of the animal 
body, into fat, rendered it quite probable that similar agen- 
cies operating in the animal system could produce the ani- 
mal fats from non-nitrogenous, as well as from nitrogenous, 
constituents of the vegetable food consumed. 

These teachings of Liebig were at first received with much 
opposition, yet they are to-day still held worthy of the most 
serious consideration. The subsequent careful investigations 
of Dumas, Persoz, Bousingault, Lawes and Gilbert, and oth- 



THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMISTRY. 13 

ers, confirm the insufficiency of the fats contained in the food 
consumed, to account for the exceptionally large accumula- 
tion of fat in many successful and economical cases of stock 
fattening. 

The same experimenters recognize also the beneficial in- 
fluence of a liberal supply of nitrogenous food wherever an 
alteration of starch or sugar into fats has to be assumed to 
explain an exceptional accumulation of that substance in the 
animal system. One of the best authorities in practical 
stock-feeding of to-day (J. Kiihn) states without reserve, in 
his late advice to fanners, that wherever the fodder contains 
a liberal supply of starch or of sugar, they may be considered 
an offset for a deficiency in fat. 

The real weakness in Liebig's views regarding the origin 
of fats in animals consists more in the fact that we are not yet 
able to give a satisfactory explanation regarding the precise 
chemical or physiological process which changes the free, fatty 
acids produced from starch and sugar into the neutral fats 
(glycerides, i. e., combination of the well-known substance, 
glycerine), than that practical experience disproves the as- 
sumptions. Physiologists and physiological chemists of to- 
day recognize almost, without exception the important rela- 
tions which exist between a liberal supply of sugar and starch 
in the animal diet and the actual accumulation of fat in the 
animal system ; yet they differ more or less as far as then- 
special mode of action is concerned. Some investigators 
believe with Liebig, for good scientific reasons, in a direct 
conversion of sugar and starch into animal fat, leaving the 
actual proof confidently to future developments. Others 
deny the actual change of both substances into animal fat; 
they ascribe to them merely the functions of protecting the 
fat contained in the fodder, and the fat produced from the 
nitrogenous constituents of the vegetable food whilst passing- 
through the animal system against the oxydizing influence of 
the air during the process of respiration. (Voit. ) 

The beneficial influence of a rich nitrogenous diet on the 
products of the dairy is frequently mentioned as a substantial 
proof in that direction. 

All non-nitrogenous constituents of the food, the fat in- 
cluded, yield to the oxidizing influence of the air and 



14 THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMISTRY. 

produce the same compouuds, namely, carbonic acid and 
water, whether burned in the open air, or during their circu- 
lation through the animal body. As they support the 
process of respiration, Liebig called them the respiratory or 
heat-producing constituents of the animal food ; he ascribed 
the entire production of the organic animal heat to a chem- 
ical process, and assigned to the non-nitrogenous substances 
no other ultimate functions but to produce heat ; the amount 
of carbonic acid and water produced became the direct ex- 
pression of the consumption of oxygen from the air during 
the process of respiration. 

These statements are to-day still considered satisfactory in 
their general application. Chemical reactions are considered 
the source of animal heat and of animal energy. 

III. — Mineral Constituents of the Food. 

(Lime, jDotassa, soda, magnesia, iron, sulphur, phosphorus, 
chlorine, etc.) 

The relations of the mineral constituents of the animal body 
to the life of animals were not better understood before 1840 
than those found in plants to the life of plants. Liebig's 
well-known extensive investigations concerning the functions 
of certain mineral substances in the growth of plants, induced 
him to study their relations to animal life. He compared the 
mineral constituents of the food consumed with those found 
in the animal body ; he studied the distribution of the various 
mineral elements throughout the different organs of the body 
and within the secretions and the excretions of the animals 
on trial. In the course of these investigations he noticed the 
alkaline reaction of the blood, found the soda the principal 
alkali in the blood and in the bile, and the potassa in the 
flesh, and recognized the hydrochloric acid as a constituent 
of the liquid of the stomach. 

These and similar important results caused him to assert, 
for the first time in the history of animal physiology, that a 
definite supply of certain mineral substances is indispensable 
for the continuation of life. His special views may be 
gleaned from the following personal statement. 

" The inorganic or saline substances which form the con- 



THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMISTRY. 15 

stant constituents of the blood, of the flesh, of the muscles 
and of every other organ, exert an important and, in many 
instances, even a controlling influence on the process of 
animal respiration, digestion, assimilation, secretion and ex- 
cretion. They impart to the organic portion of the food, the 
power of supporting animal life ; without them no food is 
complete." 

Actual experience has fully confirmed his statements. To 
feed merely the mineral constituents of the fodder articles is 
equal to starvation, and to deprive the normal animal food of 
its essential mineral constituents before feeding it carries 
with it the destruction of life wherever such material is ex- 
clusively fed. Judging from experience in plant growth, it 
seems but reasonable to assume that in compounding fodder 
rations for our various kinds of farm animals the mineral 
constituents of the fodder should be properly supplemented, 
if necessary, to meet the special wants of the animal. 

The previous short sketch of Liebig's experimental inves- 
tigations regarding the requirements of a complete animal 
diet cannot fail to show that his demonstration of the neces- 
sity to compound fodder rations with reference to three dis- 
tinctly differing groups of plant constituents has given us a 
more concise idea concerning the process of animal nutrition, 
and thereby furnished us with a safer basis for studying the 
feeding effect of our farm crops. 

The extensive practical chemical work which has furnished 
him with the material for his conclusion regarding the 
process of auimal digestion, assimilation, respiration, etc., 
and the dependency of the animal food on the constituents of 
plants, is largely due to the careful scientific labors of many 
other eminent scientists ; the comprehensive interpretation of 
their results are essentially his own. 

Chemical physiology, as a distinct field of scientific research, 
originated with Liebig ; yet it is equally true that some of the 
first and of the most important chemical physiological inves- 
tigations are due to distinguished pioneers in comparative 
anatomy and modern physiologjs — J. V. Mttller and others, 
contemporaries of him. 

A characteristical statement of Liebig regarding the rela- 



16 THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMISTEY. 

tion which exists between the vegetable and the animal king- 
dom may close this chapter. 

" A comprehensive law of nature connects the develop- 
ment of the organs of an animal, its growth and its increase 
in weight with the consumption of certain substances, which 
are identical with the principal constituents of its blood ; it is 
manifest that the animal organism produces its blood only as 
far as its form is concerned ; and, also, that nature has denied 
to it the power to produce it out of other substances, which 
are not identical with the principal constituents of its blood. 

" The animal body is a higher organism, which begins its 
development with those materials with which the life of the 
ordinary fodder plant usually terminates. As soon as the 
fodder crops and the grain crops have produced their seeds, 
they die ; with the production of the fruit, a period of life 
in the case of the perennial plant ends ; in the innumerable 
series of organic compounds, which begin with the inorganic 
articles of plant food, to the most complicated constituents 
of the brain of the animal, we cannot notice a break nor an 
interruption. The constituent of the animal food which pro- 
duces the principal part of its blood, is the product of the 
vital activity of the plant." 

Having attempted in preceding pages to show the impor- 
tant influence which chemistry has exerted on the develop- 
ment of a more concise idea of what constitutes a complete 
article of animal diet, from a physiological standpoint, i. e., 
regarding its special fitness to sustain the life of animals, I 
propose to point out briefly the effect which the above-stated 
information has had on the rational agricultural practice of 
to-day. 

The recognition of the physiological fact, that no single 
constituent of a plant can support animal life for any length 
of time, — neither nitrogenous matter, nor fat, sugar or 
starch, nor mineral matter; but that certain proportions 
are required of each of the three principal groups of sub- 
stances previously described, induced chemists to study more 
closely the various farm plants with particular reference to 
the relative proportion, and to the special quality of their 
proximate constituents. 

The results obtained in this connection soon revealed the 



THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMISTRY. 17 

fact, that not two kinds of plants, or even parts of plants, 
are of an identical composition. It became soon apparent 
that the composition of one and the same plant even differs 
widely not only at the various stages of growth and maturity, 
but also when raised in a different climate and upon a differ- 
ent kind of soil, as well as in case of a varying system 
of manuring and of cultivation. AYhilst it could not be 
denied that the character and the quality of each farm plant 
became soon much better known, and that actual feeding 
experiments carried on with a due consideration of a more 
exact chemical examination of the particular kind of fodder 
consumed, had afforded a safer basis for final conclusions, it 
became not less evident in the course of time, that the chem- 
ical analysis of an article of fodder alone did not suffice to 
decide the comparative feeding value of different kinds of 
farm plants, or even of the same plants in different stages of 
growth. The chemical analysis of the time had furnished 
most valuable information regarding the general character of 
many of our fodder plants as far as the quality and the quan- 
tity of their proximate organic constituents are concerned, 
yet it had not given all the information needed to pronounce 
upon their exact feeding value. 

As only that part of the food consumed can participate in 
the process of animal nutrition, which, by the aid of the 
secretion of the digestive organs enters into solution and 
subsequent circulation through the animal system, it is but 
natural that the rate of digestibility of our prominent farm 
crops in various stages of growth, as well as in case of vari- 
ous kinds of farm animals, could not fail to engage the atten- 
tion of agricultural chemists. 

They directed their efforts in two directions : 
First, they improved their mode of analyzing fodder sub- 
stances. The alterations were made with a view to secure 
analytical results which would closer correspond with the 
rates of digestibility noticed in actual feeding experiments. 
Since I860, one mode has been used in the majority of 
fodder analyses (Henneberg, Stohmann, Heiden). The ad- 
vantage of this course consists in the fact that all analyses 
since that year have a strictly comparative value, as far as 
the new results are concerned. 



18 THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMISTRY. 

Second, new feeding experiments were carried on with the 
direct purpose to ascertain by competent hands the actual 
transformation which the different constituents of the fodder 
plants suffered by their passage through the system of differ- 
ent kinds of farm stock. 

A lately published compilation of carefully conducted feed- 
ing experiments (E. Wolff in Mentzel's and Lengerke's Kal- 
ender 1882, I Bd. '83) shows that one hundred and eighty- 
two articles of fodder have thus far beeu tested, regarding 
their digestibility ; seveuty-eight experiments were carried 
on with cattle, three hundred and ninety-four with sheep, 
twenty with goats, thirty-five with horses, and fernr- to fwe 
with swine. The subsequent tabular statement of feeding 
experiments by Julius Ktihn in Halle, 1880, is not without 
interest in this connection as a matter of reference. 

The first table contains the analyses of the different art- 
icles of fodder fed during the experiments recorded in the 
second table. The highest and the lowest results of their 
analyses are stated for the particular purpose of calling the 
attention of practical farmers to the important fact that 
the quality of their crops deserves the most serious con- 
sideration in a rational system of stock-feeding. The in- 
fluence of the condition of the lands, as far as manuring is 
concerned, and the particular system of cultivation on 
the composition of the crops, is far more serious than 
generally assumed. 

The second table (page 24) states the rates of digesti- 
bility, in percentages, of each group of essential constituents 
of the fodder articles which served in the recorded experi- 
ments. The highest and the lowest rates are stated, to con- 
vey some approximate idea regarding the influence which 
the condition of the fodder and the individuality of the 
animal may exert on the digestibility of the particular con- 
stituents of the former. 



TABLES. 



20 



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22 



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THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMISTRY. 



23 



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24 



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25 



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26 



THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMISTEY. 



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28 



THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMISTRY. 



These tabular statements show that the particular stage in 
the growth of a fodder plant exerts not only a controlling 
influence on its composition, but also on the rate of digesti- 
bility of its various organic constituents ; and they prove 
also that the same group of organic constituents behave dif- 
ferently in that direction, not only in case of different plants, 
but also in case of different parts of the same plant. A few 
observations may illustrate these facts : — ■ 



Rate of Digestibility of Nitrogenous Constituents. 



Corn, . 

Wheat bran, . 
Wheat straw, 
Meadow hay, 
Green maize, 



Per cent. 

85 
70 
26 
57 
73 



Oats, . 
Rye bran, 
Oat straw, 
Rowen, 
(Stover, 



Green clover, just before blooming,, . 

Green clover, in full bloom, . 

Green clover, at the close of blooming, 



Per cent. 

74 

66 

38 

61 

26?) 

73 

67 

59 



Corn, 
Oats, 
Barley, . 
Green corn, 



2. Rate of Digestibility of Fats. 



Per cent. 

76 

82 

100 

75 



(Stover, . 
Oat straw, 
Wheat straw, 



28?) 

30 

27 



3. Rate of Digestibility of Non-nitrogenous Extract Matter. 



Corn, 
Oats, 
Potatoes, 



Per cent. 

94 
73 

, • 100 



Green corn, 
(Stover, 



Per cent. 

67 
40?) 



Corn, 
Oats, 
Barley, 



4. Rate of Digestibility of Crude Vegetable Fibre. 



Per cent. 

34 
21 

20 



Stover, . 
Oat straw, 
Barley straw, 



Per cent. 

52 
61 
52 



(Cattle, 70 per cent., horses, 25 per cent., swine, 10 per cent.)* 

Adding to these results the facts, that these rates of di- 
gestibility vary more or less in case of different kinds of ani- 
mals, it is quite obvious, that no single plant can furnish a 
proper standard for the valuation of the various fodder sub- 



* Approximations. 



THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMISTRY. 29 

stances, nor can one definite number state correctly their 
relative feeding value. A former practice of agriculturists 
to consider a good meadow hay the standard crop for a de- 
termination of the relative or absolute feeding value of other 
crops rests largely on a misconception, for it confounds the 
market price of the article with its feeding value. 

The value of an article of fodder may be stated from two 
distinctly different standpoints, namely : 

1. From an economical standpoint, its cost or market 
price ; and 

2. From a physiological standpoint, its feeding effect or 
nutritive value. 

1. The market price of our fodder articles depends on 
the supply and the demand in the general market ; its deter- 
mination is beyond the control of the individual farmer. 
The market price of hay of the same quality may vary widely 
in different years and in different localities ; its feeding 
value remains materially the same, under corresponding cir- 
cumstances, year after year. 

The chemical analysis of fodder crops has been turned to 
account to ascertain their comparative approximate market 
value in a similar way as the analysis of commercial fertil- 
izers, by assigning to each class of their principal food con- 
stituents, as far as their digestible portion is concerned, a 
value deduced from its costs in a leading fodder crop of a 
good average quality. The ton price in principal depots 
serves best for that purpose, and the calculated price refers 
to similar market conditions ; the proper retail price may be 
best determined in each locality with proper consideration of 
its facilities of market, transportation, etc. This practice 
which has been of late introduced into Germany, has the ad- 
vantage of telling us whether any particular lot of a fodder 
article is cheap or not, at the price we are asked for 
it, and whether the present price of a commercial article of 
fodder is a fair one or an extraordinary one ; it also can 
teach us, after a careful consideration of our home resources 
of fodder, what particular commercial fodder material would 
best supplement our stock of fodder on hand, to benefit our 
special farm industry. According to present rules, nitrog- 
enous fodder constituents and fat are counted about five 



30 



THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMISTRY. 



times as high as the non-nitrogenous extract matter and the 
digestible cellulose substance. German agricultural chem- 
ists allow four and one-third cents per pound of digestible 
riitrogeneous food constituents and fat, and nine-tenths of a 
cent per pound of digestible non-nitrogenous extract matter 
and cellular substance. Whether this basis will prove to 
be the most judicious one for our circumstances, experience 
will soon decide; for my present purpose, namely, to illus- 
trate the application of the chemical analysis as a means to 
ascertain the relative, comparative money value of several 
varieties of corn, etc., the German values are applicable : 



I. Canada Dutton Corn, 

II. Canada Button Corn, 

III. Crosby Sweet Corn, . 

IV. Blue Texas Sweet Corn, 
V. Wheat Bran (shorts), 

VI. Canada Dutton Corn, 

VII. Cotton-Seed Cake, . 
Decorticated, 



$ll.t3f 


per 


100 lbs 


l.<>9f 




" 


l.lof 




" 


1.24$ 




" 


21.04 


per ton. 


22.13 




u 



39.29 per ton. 



I. — Canada Dutton Corn, No. 1. 



Digestible ratio, 
Value per lb., . 



76 pr. ct. J 85 pr. ct. 



44 cents. 



94 pr. ct. 34 pr. ct 



.9 cent. 



100 lbs., 
Digestible, , 
75 lbs., 
Digestible, 
50 lbs., 
Digestible, , 
25 lbs., 
Digestible, , 



15.0000 



11.2500 



7.5000 



3.2500 



Nitrogenous 
Matter 
(Albumi- 
noids.) 



4.4835 
3.409 
3.3627 
2.5560 
2.2418 
1.7040 
1.1209 
.8520 



11.7954 
10.030 
8.8467 
7.5225 
5.8978 
5.0150 
2 9489 
2.5075 



Non-Nit. 
Extract 
Matter. 



Cellulose. 



65.0985 


2.3602 


61.195 


.80 


48.8238 


1.7703 


45.8970 


.60 


32.5492 


1.1802 | 


30.5980 


.40 


16.274(1 


.5901 


15.2990 


.20 



1.2664 



.9498 



.6332 



.3166 



Actual value of dio 
gestible matter in > 
100 lbs. S 



15 cts. 43 cts. 55 Cts. i ct. 
Total,— $1.13| Per 10() lbs - 



THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMISTRY. 



31 



II. 



Canada Button Corn, Xo. 2. 



Digestible ra 


io, 




76 pr. ct. 


85 pr. ct. 


94 pr. ct. 


34 pr. ct. 


- 


Value per lb. 


4|- cents. 


.9 cent. 


- 




Moisture. 


Fat. 


Nitrogenous 
Matter 
(Albumi- 
noids.) 


Non-Nit. 
Extract 
Matter. 


Cellulose. 


Ash. 


100 lbs., . 




15.0000 


4.9600 


10.2445 


66.0840 


2.3602 


1.3513 


Digestible, . 






3.7680 


8 7200 


62.1160 


.80 


- 


75 lbs., 




11.2500 


3.7200 


7.6833 


49.5630 


1.7703 


1.0134 


Digestible, . 




- 


2.826 


6.5400 


46.5S70 


.60 


- 


50 lbs.. 




7.5000 


2.4800 - 


5.1222 


33.0420 


1.1802 


.6756 


Digestible, . 




- 


1.S840 


4.3600 


31.0580 


.40 


- 


2a lbs . 




3.7500 


1.2400 


2.5611 


16 5210 


.5901 


.3378 


Digestible, . 




- 


.9420 


2.1800 


15.5290 


.20 


- 


Actual value of diO 
gestible matter in )> 
100 lbs. S 




15 cts. 
To 


37£ cts. 
al, — $1.0£ 


56 cts. 
| per 100 11 


|ct. 

)S. 





















III. — Crosby Sweet Com. 



Digestible ratio, 




- 


76 pr. ct. 


85 pr. ct. 


94 pr. ct. 


34 pr. ct. 


- 


Value per lb., . 


4£ cents. 


.9 cent. 


- 




Moisture. 


Fat. 


Nitrogenous 
Matter 
(Albumi- 
noids.) 


Non-Nit. 
Extract 
Matter. 


Cellulose. 


Ash. 


100 lbs., . 




15.0000 


6.4372 


10.8096 


63.7984 


2.3155 


.6394 


Digestible, . 




- 


4.S900 


9.1900 


60.0600 


.7 


- 


75 lbs., 




11.2500 


4.S279 


8.1072 


47.S4SS 


1.7367 


1.2297 


Digestible. . 




- 


3.6600 


6.9000 


45.0500 


.60 




50 lbs., 






3.2186 


5.404S 


31.8992 


1.1578 


.8198 


Digestible, . 




- 


2.4400 


4.6000 


30.0400 


.40 


- 


25 lbs., 




3.7500 


1.6093 


2.7024 


15.9496 


.5789 


.4099 


Digestible, . 




" 


1.2200 


2.3000 


15 0200 


.20 


- 


Actual value of di- 
gestible matter in 
100 lbs. 


1 

s 




21 ct.-. 
Tot 


40 cts. 
al. — si 15 


.i4 cts. 
| per 100 11. 


I ct. 
s. 





32 



THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMISTRY. 



IV 



Blue Texas Sweet Corn. 



Digestible ratio, 




76 per ct. ! 85 pr. ct. 


94 pr. ct. 34 pr. ct. 




Value per lb., . 


4£ cents. 


.9 cent. 


Moisture. 


Fat. 


Nitrogenous 
Matter 
(Albumi- 
noids.) 


Non-Nit. 
Extract 
Matter. 


Cellulose. 


Ash. 


100 lbs., . 


15.0000 


8.0156 


12.7645 


60.4038 


2.3602 | 


1.4559 


Digestible, . 


- 


6.0920 


10 8520 


56.7530 


.80 




75 lbs 


11.2500 


6.0117 


9.5733 


45.3030 


1.7703 


1.0920 


Digestible, . 


- 


4 5690 


8.1390 


42.5640 


.60 


- 


50 lbs., 


7.5000 


4.0078 


6.3822 


30.2020 


1.1802 | 


.7280 


Digestible, . 


- 


3.0460 


5.4260 


28.3760 


.40 


- 


25 lbs., 


3.7500 


2.0039 


3.1911 


15.1010 


.5901 


.3640 


Digestible, . 


- 


1.5230 


2.7130 


14.1880 


.20 


- 


Actual value of di- ) 
gestible matter in > 
100 lbs. J 




26 cts. 47 cts. 
Total, — $1.24 


51 cts. % ct. 
| per 100 lbs. 







V. — Nutritive Ratio, 1 : 4.14. 



Shorts or Wheat Bran, Percentage 
(Average analysis.) Composition. 


Constituents 

(in. lbs.) in a ton 

of 2,000 lbs. 


Pounds digesti- 
ble in a ton of 
2,000 lbs. 


Value 
per ton 
2,000 lbs. 


Water 15.0000 

Fat, .... 3.4195 

Nitrogenous matter, . 14.1667 

Non-nitrogenous extract 
matter, . . . 52.3678 

Cellulose, . . . 9.1839 

Ash 5.8621 


300.00 

68.39 

283.33 

1047.35 
183.68 
117.25 


54.71 
249.33 

837.88 
36.73 


$2.37 
10.80 

7.54 
.33 


100.0000 pr. ct. 

1 


2000.00 lbs. 


1178.65 lbs. 


$21.04 



., . I Nitrogenous | Non-nitrogenous ,,„,,,,- 

1 ;lt - Matter. Matter. 



Digestible ratio, 
Value per lb., . 



80 per cent. I 88 per cent. 80 per cent. I 20 per ct. 



4£ cents. 



.9 cent. 



THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMISTRY 



33 



VI. — Nutritive Ratio. 1 :8.S. 





Canada Dutton Corn, 
No. 2. 


Percentage 
Composition 




Constituents 

(in lbs.) in a ton 

of 2.000 lbs. 


Pounds digesti- 
ble in a ton of 
2,000 lbs. 


Value 
per ton 
2.000 lbs. 


Water, .... 


15.0000 




300.00 


- 


- 


Fat, 


4.9600 




99.19 


75.39 


83.27 


Nitrogenous matter, 


10.2445 




204.89 


174.15 


7.54 


Non-nitrogenous extract 
matter, .... 


66.0840 




1321.68 


1242.37 


11.18 


Cellulose, 


2.3602 




47.22 


16.06 


.14 


Ash 


1.3513 




27.02 


- 


- 




100.0000 pr. ct, 


2000.00 lbs. 


1507.97 lbs. 


822.13 






Fat. 




Nitrogenous 
Matter. 


Non-nitrogenous 
Matter. 


Cellulose. 


Digestible ratio, 


76 per cent. 




85 per cent. 


94 per cent. 


34 per ct. 


Value per lb., . 


H- 


ceuts. 


.9 cent. 







VII. — Nutritive Ratio, 1:1.3 7 . 



Cotton See'l Meal. 
(Decorticated.) 



Percentage 
Composition. 



Constituents 

(in lbs.) in a ton 

of 2,000 lbs. 



Pounds digesti- 
ble in a ton of 
2,000 lbs. 



Value 
per ton 
2,000 lbs. 



Water, . 

Fat, .... 

Nitrogenous matter, 

Non- nitrogenous extract 
matter, 

Cellulose, 

Ash, 



15.00 
13.11 
37.14 

18.66 
8.82 
7.27 



300.00 
262.20 

742,80 

373.20 
176.40 
145.40 



235.40 
598.60 



350.20 



s 10.20 
25.94 

3.15 



100.00 pr. ct. 2000.00 lbs. | llS4 20 1bs. 839.29 





Nitrogenous Non-nitrogenous 
Fat " Matter. Matter. 


Digestible ratio, 


90 per cent. 81 per cent. 64 per cent. 


Value per lb , . 


4£ cents. .9 cent. 



34 THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMISTRY. 

77. The Physiological or Nutritive value of an article of 
Food refers to its actual Feeding effect. 

The market value and the actual feeding effect of one and 
the same article do not necessarily correspond with each other ; 
in fact, they rarely coincide. 

The market value may be stated for each locality by one 
definite number. The feeding effect of one and the same 
substance, simple or compound, varies under different cir- 
cumstances, and depends in a controlling degree on its judi- 
cious use. Sugar fed without any suitable admixture has no 
feeding value ; it is worthless as the sole food of an animal. 
Properly supplemented — as, for instance, in the sweet corn 
— its nutritive value is very high. Bread has a high feeding 
value for man; a cat fed exclusively with bread dies, after 
some weeks, under the symptoms of starvation. 

To compound the animal diet with reference to the partic- 
ular organization of the animal, its age and its functions , is 
of no more importance than to select the fodder substances 
with reference to its special wants, as far as the absolute and 
relative quantity of the three essential groups oifood constitu- 
ents are concerned. 

As no single plant or part of plant has been found to sup- 
ply economically and efficiently to any considerable extent 
the wants of our various kinds of farm stock, it becomes a 
matter of first importance to learn how to supplement our 
leading farm crops, to meet the divers wants of each kind. 
To secure the highest feeding value of each article of fodder 
is most desirable in the interest of good economy. To try 
to attain that end by means of the products of home industry 
is a safe beginning. For this purpose it is desirable that we 
should learn to look upon a plant, or a part of a plant, not 
as a whole, but to pay more attention towards their compo- 
sition. A little more acquaintance with the composition of 
our fodder crops, — as far as the relative and the absolute 
quantity of the three principal groups of essential constituents 
of an animal diet are concerned, — cannot fail to enable us 
to compound fodder rations for our stock on a more rational 
basis. A thorough information reo-ardine: the general char- 
acter of the crops, and an approximately correct idea regard- 



THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMISTRY. 35 

ing the chemical composition of the particular fodder on 
hand, are points of first importance when planning a rational 
and thus economical system of feeding for any particular 
kind of farm stock. A better knowledge of what we feed 
enables us to give a more judicious explanation of the results 
of our feeding experiments ; it teaches us best, also, how to 
supplement our own fodder resources to meet the special 
wants of our farm stock. 

Careful investigations in stock-feeding have taught us les- 
sons similar to those we have learned to appreciate in feed- 
ing plants, or in the cultivation and the production of farm 
crops. All our farm plants need nitrogen, phosphoric and 
sulphuric acids, potassa, soda, lime, magnesia and iron ; yet 
not two species of plants have been found which need the 
same quantity of these substances during their entire period 
of life, nor at any stage of their growth. No one of the 
above-stated essential mineral constituents of plants can re- 
place another one to any extent without altering the char- 
acter of the plant, or even endangering its life. Potassa 
cannot take the place of lime, nor phosphoric acid that of 
sulphuric acid. When lime is needed, a shovelful of that 
substance is worth more than any quantity of the mauy times 
more expensive potassa ; that particular mineral element 
which supplies an actual want of the soil is, for this reason, 
from a physiological standpoint considered the most impor- 
tant one for the production of the plant ; for without it the 
remaining essential mineral constituents of plants, whatever 
their quantity may be, cannot make them grow. 

In regard to the growth and the support of our farm live- 
stock, similar relations have been noticed. Actual feeding 
experiments have shown that three groups of plant constit- 
uents (nitrogenous, non-nitrogenous, and mineral constit- 
uents) are required to sustain successfully animal life. No 
one or two of them, alone, can support it for any length of 
time. In case the food does not contain digestible non-nitrog- 
enous substances, the fat and a part of the muscles of the 
animal on trial will be consumed in the support of respira- 
tion before its life terminates. In case nitrogenous constit- 
uents are excluded, the formation of new blood and flesh 
from the food consumed ceases, for the animal system is not 



36 THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMISTRY. 

capable of producing their principal constituents from any- 
thing else than the nitrogenous constituents of the plants. 

Herbivorous animals receive these substances directly from 
the plants ; carniverous animals indirectly, by feeding on her- 
bivorous animals. We feed at present our farm stock too 
frequently without a due consideration of the general nat- 
ural law of nutrition ; to deal out our fodder crops only 
with mere reference to name, instead of making ourselves 
more familiar with their composition and their particular 
quality, deprives us even of the chance of drawing an intel- 
ligent conclusion from our present system of feeding. 

The peculiar character of our home-raised fodder articles 
is apt to conceal their special deficiency for the various pur- 
poses they are used for in a general farm management. They 
all contain the three essential food constituents, yet in widely 
varying proportions, and they ought, therefore, to be sup- 
plemented in different directions, to secure their full econom- 
ical value. To resort to more or less of the same fodder 
article to meet the special wants, may meet the case as far as 
an efficient support of the animal is concerned, yet it can only 
in exceptional cases be considered good economy. 

To satisfy the craving of the stomach and to feed a nutri- 
tious food are both requirements of a healthy animal diet, 
which, each in their own way, may be complied with. The 
commercial fodder substances, as oil-cakes, meat refuse, brans 
and our steadily increasing supply of refuse material from 
breweries, starch works, glucose factories, etc., are admira- 
bly fitted to supplement our farm resources for stock-feeding ; 
they can serve in regard to animal growth and support in a 
similar way as the commercial fertilizer in the growth of 
farm crops, by supplementing our home resources. To feed 
an excess of fodder materials, as roots and potatoes, which 
contain a large proportion of non-nitrogenous substances, 
as starch, sugar, digestible cellular substance, etc., means 
direct waste ; for they are ejected by the animal, and do not 
materially benefit the manure heap. In case of an excessive 
consumption of nitrogenous constituents, a part of the ex- 
pense is saved in an increased value of the manure, yet 
scarcely enough to recommend that practice beyond mere 
exceptional cases. The aim, therefore, of an economical stock- 



THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMISTRY. 37 

feeding must be to compound our various fodder materials in 
such a manner that the largest quantity of each of the three 
groups of fodder substances which the animal is capable to 
assimilate should be contained in its daily diet to meet the 
purpose for which it is kept. To compound the fodder 
ration of our farm stock with reference to the special wants 
of each class of them is an essential requirement for a satis- 
factory performance of their functions ; to supply these 
wants in an economical way controls the financial success of 
the industry. 

The problem is an intricate one ; years of careful exper- 
imenting were required to accumulate observations sufficient 
in number and in quality to impart to the conclusion arrived 
at the claim of being worthy of a serious consideration. The 
first attempt to lay down rules for compounding the fodder 
rations of all kinds of farm stock on rational scientific prin- 
ciples was made by Dr. Grouven, Director of the Agricul- 
tural Experiment Station, at Salzmtinden, Germany, 1858- 
1864. He began his work with a critical compilation of 
feeding experiments made by competent parties, some ninety 
in number, his own extensive experiments included. He 
ascertained, in each case, the amount of each fodder sub- 
tance consumed per day during each experiment ; and cal- 
culated subsequently from their analyses the character and 
the amount of the daily fodder rations. 

By this operation he learned the exact amount of nitrog- 
enous, non-nitrogenous and mineral substances digested per 
day, under definite circumstances, by each class of farm ani- 
mals. The amount of fat which had been fed in the fodder 
substances was separately recorded on account of its excep- 
tionally high feeding value as a heat-producing material. The 
results of his calculations were repeatedly tried by actual 
feeding experiments, to test the correctness of his conclu- 
sions. The main object of Grouven's work consisted in 
bringing the results of more than twenty years' careful in- 
vestigations within the reach of the practical farmer. In 
presenting his fodder standards to them, he recognized the 
natural imperfections of a first effort. More than twenty 
years' additional experience in leading European agricul- 
tural experiment stations has modified some details in 



38 THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMISTRY. 

Grrouven's statement; yet the great value of his method, to 
compound rational and thus more economical fodder rations 
for farm animals, has received an unqualified endorsement. 
As the revised feeding standards deserve the most serious 
attention of all those who take an active part in studying the 
best and most economical mode of stock-feeding with refer- 
ence to our leading fodder resources, I insert in this connec- 
tion the latest edition for 1883 (Mentzel and Lengerke, 
Berlin). As a starting point for future feeding experiments, 
they furnish most valuable instructions. 



THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMISTRY 



39 



(A.) By Day, and 1.000 lbs. Lice Weight. 









Digestible AIatteb et 








KI>~D OF AXIMAL. 


£ 


the Fodder. 


z ■ 






4 


£ 




1 






5 


| 


i! 






j> 






>-. 


.= 






= = 


■= 






- 


< 


- 


' z 


X 


5 


1 


Oxen, — 


lbs. 


lbs. 


lbs. 


lbs. 


lbs. 






At rest, .... 


17.5 


/ 


8.0 


0.15 


8.85 


11 :2.0 


2. 


Sheep, — 
















Coarse breed. 


20.0 


12 


10.3 


0.20 


11.70 


1:9.0 




Fine breed, . 


22.5 


1.5 


11.4 


0.25 


13.15 


1:8.0 


3. 


Oxen, — 


- 














At medium work, . 


24 


1.6 


11.3 


0.30 


13.20 


1:7 5 




At hard work, 


26.0 


2.4 


13.2 


50 


16.10 


1:6.0 


i. 


Horse, — 
















At easy work, 


21.0 


1.5 


9.5 


0.40 


11.40 


1 :7.0 




At medium work, . 


22 5 


1.8 


11.2 


0.60 


13.60 


1 :7.0 




At hard work, 


25.5 


2.8 


13.4 


80 


17.00 


1 :5.5 


5. 


Milch Core, — . 


24.0 


2.5 


12.5 


0.40 


15.40 


1:5.4 


6. 


Fattening Ox, — 
















1st period. 


27.0 


2.5 


15.0 


0.50 


IS. 00 


1:6 5 




2d ... 


26.0 


3.0 


14.8 


0.70 


18.50 


1 :5.5 




3d ... 


25.0 


2.7 


14.8 


0.60 


18.10 


1:6.0 


7. 


ning Sheep, — 
















1st period, 


26.0 


3.0 


15.2 


0.50 


18.70 


1 :5.5 




2d " ... 
Fattening Hog, — 


25.0 


3.5 


14.4 


0.60 


18.50 


1:4.5 


8. 








1st period, 


36.0 


,5.0 


27.5 


32.50 


1 :5 5 




2d 


31.0 


4.0 


24.0 


28.00 


1:6.0 




3d - ... 


23 5 


2.7 


17.5 


20.20 


1:6.5 


9. 


Growing Cattle, — 














Months old 


Medium live 
■weight per head. 














2-3, 


150 lbs.. . 


22.0 


4.0 


13.8 


2.0 | 


19.8 


1 :4.7 




3-6, 




300 lbs., . 


23.4 


3.2 


13.5 


1.0 ; 


17.7 


1:5.0 




6-12, 




500 lbs , . 


24.0 


2.5 


13.5 


0.6 


16.6 


1:6.0 




12-18, 




700 lbs., . 


24.0 


2.0 


13.0 


0.4 : 


15.4 


1 :7.0 




18-24, 




850 lbs., . 


24.0 


1.6 


12.0 


0.3 


13.9 


1:8.0 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



■■hi ..i inn inn Minimum mil iiiii mi mi I | 

40 THE INFLUENCE OF CHEMISTK.. 000 894 234 1 



(A.) By Day, and 1.000 lbs. Live Weight — Continued. 





ANIMAL. 


s 

3 


Digestible Matter in- 
the Fodder. 


3 

^ si 

a a 

3 




KIND OF 


12 

'c 

S 

3 

a 
< 


| % 




A 


10. Growing Sheep, — 














Months old. 


Medium live 
weight per head. 


lbs. 


lbs. 


lbs. 


lbs. 


lbs. 




5-6, . 


56 lbs., . 


28.0 


3.2 


15.6 


0.8 


19.6 


1 :5 5 


6-8, . 


67 lbs., . 


25.0 


2.7 


13.3 


6 


16.6 


1 :5.5 


8-11, . 


75 lbs., . 


23.0 


2.1 


11 4 


5 


14.0 


1 :6.0 


11-15, . 


82 lbs., . 


22.5 


1.7 


10.9 


04 


13.0 


1:7.0 


15-20, . 


85 lbs., . 


22 


1.4 


10.4 


0.3 


12.1 


1 :8.0 










v. v / 






11. Growing 


Fattening 






• 






Swine, — 














2-3, . 


50 lbs., . 


42.0 


7.5 


30 


37.5 


1 :4.0 


3-5, . 


100 lbs., . 


34.0 


5.0 


25.0 


30.0 


1:5.0 


5-6, . 


125 lbs., . 


31 5 


4.3 


23.7 


28.0 


1 :5.o 


6-8, . 


170 lbs., . 


27.0 


34 


20.4 


23.8 


1 :6.0 


8-12, . 


250 lbs., . 


21.0 


2.5 


16.2 


18.7 


1:6.5 



(B.) By Head and 


by Day. 










Digestible Matter in 








03 

3 


the Fodder. 


V 












o 


KIND OF ANIMAL. 


S 

SB 

o 

a 


■a 

o 
c 

3 

3 
< 


u 

1 k 

o 


ht 


1 1 

CO 


C3 
U 

3 

"A 


Growing Cattle, — 












■»f„„.v,o „m Medium live 
Months old. weight per head. 


lbs. 


lbs. 


lbs. lbs. 


lbs. 




2-3, . 150 lbs., . 


3.3 


0.6 


2.1 


0.30 


3.00 


1 :4.7 


3-5, . 300 lbs., . 


7.0 


1.0 


4.1 


0.30 


5.40 


1 :5.0 


5-6, . 500 lbs., 


12.0 


1.3 


6.8 


0.30 


8.40 


1 :6.0 


6-8, . 700 lbs., . 


16.8 


1.4 


9.1 


0.28 


10.78 


1 :7.0 


8-12, . 800 lbs., . 


20.4 


1.4 


10.3 j 0.26 


11.96 


1 :8.0 


Growing Sheep, — 

5-6," . 56 lbs., . 


1.6 


0.18 


0.87 


0.045 


1.095 


1 :5.5 


6-8, . 67 lbs., . 


1.7 


0.17 


0.85 


0.040 


1.060 


1 :5.5 


8-11, . 75 lbs., . 


1.7 


0.16 





85 


0.037 


1.047 


1 :6.0 


11-15, . 82 lbs., . 


1.8 


0.14 





89 


0.032 


1.062 


1 :7.0 


15-20, . 85 lbs., . 


1.9 


0.12 





88 


0.025 


1.047 


1 :8.0 


Groiving Fattening Swine, — 
2-3, . 50 lbs., 


2.1 


0.38 




1.50 


1.88 


1 :4.0 


3-5, . 100 lbs., . 


3.4 


0.50 


2.50 


3.00 


15.0 


5-6, . 125 lbs., . 


3.9 


0.54 


2.96 


3.50 


1 :5.5 


6-8, . 170 lbs., . 


4.6 


0.58 


3.47 


4.05 


1 :6.0 


8-12, . 250 lbs., . 


5.2 


0.62 


4.05 


4.67 


1 :6.5 



METAL EDGE. lNa2004PH7.6TO9.6PAt 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



lUliriHIIMI MMIIIII | 

000 894 234 1 



